Running Forever
by sweetsouthernbell
Summary: Sydney left that life behind her to save those she cared about from pain. Will it ever catch up with her? Or will she be free of it and trapped in her new life. AU. On hold.
1. Prologue

Title: Running Forever

Summary: Sydney left that life behind her to save those she cared about from pain. Will it ever catch up with her? Or will she be free of it and trapped in her new life? AU

Disclaimer: ::glances around:: idonotownvaughnoralias. Okay, now that that's is said, I feel much better. Okay, so that's a lie, I feel like crap. But I'll live, I guess.

A/N: Okay, this is going to be confusing, so I'll try to explain it. The Telling did not happen. Most of season three did not happen. The only part of season three that happened was Sydney finding the papers on Project: SAB 47. I don't know exactly who tipped her off on the existance of the papers but it was not Lauren because I deny that Lauren ever existed. Assume Sark or Sloane or Irina told her about the bank in Wittenberg. Everything else in season two did happen up until The Telling. It starts somewhere in there.

Happy reading and Merry reviewing!

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_Prologue:_

I started running and I couldn't stop. There was no stopping. I could never stop running. If I stopped for too long, someone always ended up hurt. I realize that now.

Staying with him was all I had ever truly wanted. I wanted to stay and let him bath me in his love. To have him comfort me and whisper sweet nothings, that meant everything to me, in my ear late at night. I wanted to soak in the bathtub and have him sit next to me on the cool tile of the bathroom floor, watching and helping me relax. I wanted to have him hand me a glass of wine and watch me sip at it slowly. I wanted him to reach his hand out to touch my cheek, silently telling me that everything was going to be okay. Now I know that my baths must forever be taken alone.

We had finally taken down SD-6. That was quite possibly the best day of my life. Not because SD-6 was gone, though I was incredibly happy that it was. No, it was because I would finally have Michael Vaughn without fear of either of us losing our lives. After two years of pent up tension and longing, we had each other and it was perfect. No other word could describe how I felt with him but perfect.

Soon after, I uncovered something that I was never meant to see. It was an old CIA project, headed by my father. He had signed away my life. After my mother had faked her death, he had given my future away to the very people I hated the most. He gave them complete control over me, deciding how things would play out. That, I think, is what finally made me snap. They played with my life; causing the ones I loved the most, pain. I wouldn't give them that control, not anymore.

I visited Michael in the hospital before I left where he was recovering from a mission that had ended him up with a few broken ribs, a fractured wrist, and a mild concussion. I didn't tell him I was leaving. He would only try and convince me to stay. And I knew that if he did ask me to stay, I would have. I would have thrown all caution into the wind and stayed right there next to him, refusing to leave forever. So, I didn't tell him. Instead, I told him that I would be there in the morning to take him home. And in a way, I hope that he's still waiting for me.

He knew that something had happened in Wittenberg. That I had found something that upset me greatly. But he never pressed me on it. He never asked me what had truly happened there. He took the lie that I fed him, saying that I had found some clues on tracking down Sloane. I could see in his eyes that he didn't believe that crap for a second but he knew I wouldn't talk about it unless I wanted to.

I left that night after my visit to him. He was almost asleep when I left and I prayed that he wouldn't notice me leaving call out for me to stay. He didn't. I left the room and stopped just outside the doorway. I could almost feel his heart pull mine back in. Momentarily lapsing in my resolve, I quietly snuck back into the room. He was completely asleep now. He always seemed so peaceful when he sleep, like an angel. My guardian angel. I lifted his hand to my lips and kissed it softly, slipping a folded paper in-between his fingers. Gently, I laid his hand back down and walked away again. Only this time, I didn't look back.

For days, I just drove. I didn't care where I was going or where I finally ended up. All I cared was that I left the world of lying and betrayal behind me. Somewhere along the way, I changed my name. I was no longer Sydney Bristow. Sydney Bristow brought pain into people's lives. Those who cared for her, only ended up in pain or under the ground. I left Sydney behind on the side of the road becoming Paige Waters in her stead. In hotel rooms, I created the documents necessary to prove Paige's existence, driver's license, birth certificate, diplomas, things of that nature. My next step was to sell my car. I traded it at some cheap dealer's and left that town a new woman.

I was in a Wal-Mart in South Dakota, I think, when I saw the first signs that he was looking for me. It was one of those missing posters on a wall full of missing posters, barely visible in the crowd of faces littering the wall. But it was there nonetheless. I expected him to look for me. I knew he would. He wouldn't give up on me, not after the note I had left him. But I had perfected the art of covering my tracks, and I knew it would take him years just to find my old car.

I went to a salon that day and had my hair dyed. It's now a rich red color with darker red highlights spread throughout. The stylist said she hadn't seen anyone take to becoming a red head so easily, that the color just fit me somehow.

I wandered across the Midlands for a while before finally my money began to give out in Colorado. I knew I had to find a job and settle down. So I did, in Denver, more specifically a suburb called NorthGlenn. I got a job at a local high school, teaching English. That was one of the few things of Sydney's I allowed to stay.

My students had questions. Like where I came from and what I was doing in Colorado. I told them that I came from California and had relatives in Colorado, so I came to the state to be closer to them. They bought it and soon that was the story I was telling everyone. A few people wandered where these relatives of mine where and I told them they lived in a small town and didn't like to come to Denver, so I went to them. And just to add a touch of truth to my story every few months or so, I would take the weekend off to go visit my "relatives". In truth, I just drove to tourist towns in the mountains and spent the weekend relaxing and shopping.

Slowly over the course of three years, I became comfortable in Paige's world. I learned to love my teaching and adore my students, I became friendly with some of my neighbors, I volunteered at a local homeless shelter, I helped out with community plays put on at the community center every three months or so. I even allowed myself to make friends with some of the other teachers at school. But I allowed no one to come too close to me. I wouldn't allow them to be hurt.

I finally convinced myself that no one was looking for me anymore and if they were, they wouldn't find me. I was free of the hold they had had on my life. I was actually deciding how my life would go without fear of someone totally evil stepping in and ruining it. I love this new life. But that doesn't keep me warm at night.

My baths are taken alone with no one to sit next to me and give me quiet comforting. My meals I eat alone and in quiet. My nights are spent alone in my queen sized bed. Sometimes when I wake from a nightmare in the middle of the night, I reach out for him only to find cool sheets. Then it all comes back to me. I'm reminded of what I left behind. And why. I remember why I left him and that world behind and I am no longer in that dream world where I still live there. It only makes the longing worse.

At work, they ask me why I don't go out on dates and why I wasn't interested in marriage. I tell them that I loved once and the memory of that love was still too strong to even think about loving someone else. I assume they took that as I was in love, probably engaged or married and he had died, and I was still grieving over it. I let them assume that for it was partially right.

I wasn't running physically anymore, except for my daily mile run, but the rest of me ran. I sit alone in my apartment sometimes, telling myself over and over why I had done it and I believe myself because I need something to believe in. I had never been religious and if anyone ever said the word Rambaldi around me again, they would regret the day they were born. While a part of me always longs for my old life, another part, the stronger part, knows that I will always be running from that life. My fate was to run forever. That's what I tell myself before I fall asleep at night. _You run because you have too. You're running forever._

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Yah? Nah? Continue? Reviews please! 


	2. Sydney's Morning

A/N: Okay, switching POV's on this from first to third person. Sydney's new name is Paige (remember?), so people refer to her as Paige, not Sydney. I would write Paige through the whole thing but I would start to confuse myself and probably write a Charmed fic. Which, by the way, is where I came up with the name Paige. So I write Sydney because it is her that's doing all this. I am probably not making any sense right now.

Italic sentences are thoughts. And when you see this (), that means a change in location or time has lapsed or both.

Oh, and in case you haven't read any of my other fics, I respond to reviews at the end of chapters because I'm wierd and like to do things differently.

_

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_

_Beep, beep, beep.  
_  
Sydney reached out a hand and hit the snooze button on her alarm for the third time already that morning. She snuggled into the blankets farther and tried to let sleep claim her again. But Angelique had other ideas. The sheltie spaniel mix puppy jumped up on the bed and started licking her owner's face. Sydney laughed and finally opened her eyes, picking the puppy in her arms.  
  
Angelique had been a gift from the fellow teachers at the school Sydney taught at. They said, they didn't like the idea of her living by herself in the big bad city and had all chipped in to buy her the puppy. Sydney welcomed the puppy happily. She hadn't realized how quiet the apartment was so quiet until she brought the puppy home.  
  
Though Angelique wouldn't attack a fly much less anyone that would break into Sydney's apartment. Sydney could take care of that. Being a former spy had taught her how to defend herself pretty well, but the people at school had no idea that she was an ex-spy and that would raise more questions than she wanted.  
  
Sydney had agonized over what to name the puppy. Finally she came up with Angelique. One because it meant Angel and two, because it was French just like Vaughn. A small pang went through her heart at the thought of Vaughn but she just shook it off and fell back into her bed farther, clutching Angelique in her lap. She sat there, holding the puppy closely staring off into space, until her alarm clock sounded again.  
  
Sighing, Sydney reached over and clicked it off. After a moment's hesitation, she set Angelique down on the bed spread and stood up. She stretched her cramped muscles and made her way to the bathroom. Turning on the shower, she stepped in front of the mirror, splashing her face with cold water to wake her up, and waited for the water to warm up. The plumbing in her apartment wasn't top of the line and took a minute to warm up enough so she didn't freeze in the shower. She tested the water, and satisfied that it was warm enough, she stripped of her P.J.s and stepped into the shower.  
  
She spent a few moments longer in the shower than normal, wishing that she had had enough time to take a long soak but her inability to get up that morning caused her to be running late. Finally, she turned off the water and step out, reaching for a fluffy towel.  
  
Halfway through her make up routine, the phone began to ring. She sighed in frustration, and half threw, half set the eyeliner pencil down. She made it to the living room before her answering machine picked up. Throwing up her hands, she waited for whoever was calling to leave a message.  
  
"Hey Paige," A voice said, after the beep, "It's Karen. Do you want to catch a movie tonight? I'm free cause Trevor's taking care of the kids and we never hang out anymore. Well, anyway, call me." The machine beeped and shut off.  
  
Sydney smiled. Karen and her had worked together on some of the community plays before Karen's second child Hana came and Karen quit to stay at home and care for her son and daughter. A movie couldn't hurt. She'd call her back after school, which she was late for. Silently cursing herself, Sydney made her way back to the bathroom, and finished doing her makeup.  
  
"Good morning Paige." Mrs. Ashley said to Sydney as she headed towards the elevator.  
  
Sydney smiled at her dear old neighbor, "Good morning, Mrs. Ashley. How's Mr. Buttons doing?" Mr. Buttons being Mrs. Ashley's cat. Even though Mr. Buttons turned out to be a Ms. Buttons and a pregnant Ms. Buttons at that, though Mrs. Ashley never bothered to rename the poor cat or did and forgot about it.  
  
Mrs. Ashley smiled, "She's better now. Thanks for asking, dear."  
  
"It's no problem," Sydney assured her, "I'll come by later and see the new kittens, okay?"  
  
"Alright, dear. Say hello to your students for me." Mrs. Ashley said, unlocking her door.  
  
"I will." Sydney promised and waited until Mrs. Ashley stepped into her apartment before continuing on her way to the elevator.  
  
_Go to dry cleaner, pick up more food for Angelique, stop by the post office. _Sydney thought_,_ pressing the bottom floor button._ Remember to arrange for Jake-_Jake being one of her students who wasn't doing so great in English_- a tutor. Call Karen. See Mr. Button's kittens._ The bell dinged and when the elevator doors opened, Sydney stepped out, continuing her mental to-do list. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she bumped into someone. "Oh, sorry." She mumbled and continued walking. It wasn't until she had gotten ten steps away that she stopped and turned suddenly. That man she had run into, she could have sworn it looked like Vaughn.  
  
_Oh, God, he's found me_, was her first thought. But when she caught an actual look at the man's face, she sighed in relief. It wasn't Vaughn. That man didn't even look anything like Vaughn except for the spiky dirty blonde hair, but that seemed to be a very popular hair style now-a-days. The spiky, messed, just rolled out of bed look thing. Enough of her students adopted that hairstyle to prove that point. She shook her head and continued walking. _You have got to get a grip, Sydney. No, you're not Sydney. You're Paige. Sydney's gone, remember?_ Sydney put a hand to her forehead trying to clear her head.  
  
"Yeah, I remember." She muttered to herself, unlocking her car. She couldn't remember what kind of car it was, but she didn't really care. As long as it wasn't black or a sedan or a four-wheeler, she could have cared less what it was. _Maybe I need to visit the "relatives" again_, she thought, pulling into traffic. A smile crept to her lips thinking of her visits to the "relatives". It meant a weekend alone to shop and hit a spa, most of the time getting an extra long massage. _Next weekend, I have way too much to do this weekend._ She thought with some bitterness. Then started to mentally check off what she had to that weekend, _Chaperone, again, the school dance, grade midterms, bring Angelique to the vet, think of what to assign Sarah-_ Sarah was one of the kids she tutored at school in Italian_- for homework, come up with homework for tenth grade honors English, type up ninth grade book report requirements, call Jamie and ask if she needs me at the shelter on Sunday. Yep, I have way too much to do. All in a day's work._  
  
()  
  
"Ms. Waters?"  
  
Sydney looked up from her desk and lunch to see one of her freshman students, one of the more shy ones, standing in the doorway. "Yes, Lea, come in."  
  
Lea smiled and came in. She stood in front of Sydney's desk before speaking again, "I'm sorry if I'm interrupting your lunch, I just had no one else to go to."  
  
Sydney smiled affectionately at the girl and shook her head slightly, "Oh this," She gestured to her half eaten turkey sandwich and diet coke, "I can just eat it during class. So what's up?"  
  
"I need some help with my French and normally I would ask my dad but he's on another of his business trips." Lea, said, sitting down in the chair Sydney gestured to.  
  
_Oh, yes, the business-trip dad. Something I know all too well_, Sydney thought. "What about your mom?" The look of pain on Lea's face instantly told Sydney she had touched a sore spot, _Nice one Bristow. No, Waters. Grrrr, that vacation is sounding mighty good right now_. "Oh, I'm sorry."  
  
Lea shrugged, "It's okay. She died a few hours after giving birth to me. I never really knew her." _Yeah, my mother lived with me for six years and I never really knew her either, at least not until three years ago._ Sydney said, silently. That would just raise too many questions if she said it out loud.  
  
"My mom died when I was six." Sydney said softly and out loud. She wanted Lea to know that she wasn't the only one without a mother. Even if Irina had come back alive, she had betrayed Sydney and the entire CIA. She may as well be dead in Sydney's mind.  
  
Lea looked up, "Yeah?" She had gotten the reassurance that she wasn't alone that Sydney hoped she had.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Lea smiled and looked down at her lap again. Sydney could tell she was fighting tears. "Well, anyway, like I said, my dad's out of town on yet another business trip, so could you help me?"  
  
_I wonder if her dad works for the CIA like mine did, well does. Is there even a branch of the CIA in Colorado? Two years with them, you would think I would know that if there was or not. I didn't do my homework on the CIA apparently. I should check online to see if there is one. It never hurts to keep tabs on where the agency is. That way I know if I have to leave. What was I doing again? Oh, right, Lea and French. Focus Sydney, Paige, whoever you are today._ Sydney smiled, "Of course."  
  
"Good," Lea said, pulling out her French book and opening it to a page. She scooted her chair over so Sydney could see the book, "Now what I don't get are adjectives."  
  
"Okay," Sydney's brow creased in concentration, leaning over the book with Lea. This is what she loved about being a teacher. Helping someone instead of hurting them. And with all her spy training she came in handy for foreign language help and well as tips on self defense. Yeah, this is why she left and why she didn't go running back to her old life.

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**elemenohpee**- I'm glad you like it. 

**Heidi**- I can assure you if she stops running, it will be in Vaughn's arms. This is most definately a Syd/Vaughn story. I love them!

**Fair Cate**- Thanks and I did. Hope ya like.

**cg's-gal-72689**- Does this intrigue you anymore?

**Dora**- Thanks, I will!

**daisyduke947**- I will continue. Thanks for the encouragement.


	3. I found her

A/N: I just want to add before you read the chapter that none of us really know what Vaughn thinks. He could be like thinking of green jell-o all the time for all we know. This is just my take on what Vaughn thinks about. You'll see what I mean soon.

Oh, and assume that Vaughn and Weiss have actual offices at the JTF, not desks in a big giant room with a bunch of other people. You'll see.

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"Dude, you have got to stop this craziness." Vaughn mumbled something incoherent, causing Weiss to lean forward. "What?"  
  
Vaughn picked up his head from its spot in his desk and repeated, "When I find Sydney."  
  
Weiss groaned and sat down, "Dude, she's been gone for three years."  
  
"She's still out there."  
  
"You don't know that." Weiss answered, resting his elbows on his knees, "I'm just saying that you need to let her go and move on with your life."  
  
"No," Vaughn replied, shaking his head. "I can't," He added.  
  
Weiss knew that he wasn't going to persuade Vaughn to give up the fruitless search for Sydney, at least not today, so he stood up. "So are you and me gonna get drunk or are you just going to waste away here at your desk?"  
  
Vaughn thought about it and finally stood up, "Yeah, so which bar that I'm not even going to remember tomorrow are we going to today?" A small joke but it was a start. At least he wasn't moping over Sydney anymore.  
  
Weiss grinned, "The best one. I swear you won't remember anything about it tomorrow."  
  
"And yet somehow I always do." Vaughn answered, following Weiss out of his office.  
  
"Well, that's because you don't drink yourself into a coma." Weiss joked.  
  
"Well, one of us has to be sober, driving drunk doesn't really look all that great on our records." Vaughn countered, moving back into serious Vaughn.  
  
"That's what cabs are for." Weiss answered, "Now come on, you have to get completely drunk with me tonight. You owe it to yourself."  
  
Vaughn stopped walking and stared at his best friend. Weiss just shrugged innocently and kept walking. Hesitating for a second, Vaughn decided to follow Weiss. _Maybe getting drunk will take my mind of Sydney._  
  
()  
  
_Beep, beep, beep_  
  
Vaughn stirred slightly in his sleep but didn't make the effort to get up.  
  
_Beep, beep, beep_  
  
Ten minutes later the alarm clock went off again. This time Vaughn threw back the covers and slammed the snooze button. He sat on the edge of his bed, rubbing his sore head. _Well, Eric was partially right, I don't remember how I got home. Too bad I still remember the bar though. That's just gonna make him more anxious to get me even drunker the next time._ Vaughn groaned at the thought of becoming drunker than he had been the night before and waking up with a worse splitting headache. _No way in hell. I'd rather give up my search for Sydney._  
  
Sydney. That name had haunted him for the past three years. Every night the woman behind the name lived in his dreams. In his dreams, she was still with him and not out God-knows-where. He swore he wouldn't give up on her, that he would find her and that wasn't a promise he was eager to break. No matter what anyone said.  
  
He had heard it all. "She's gone, you have to let her go." "Dude, she's not coming back, just accept that and move on." "You'll never find her, you know she's good at covering her tracks." And so on and so on. It seemed that only Jack, a man that Vaughn had never been able to get on the good side of, seemed to believe that Sydney was still out there and that they would find her. But Jack's contacts turned up nothing.  
  
So Vaughn had resorted to the old fashioned way of doing things. Doing them himself. He searched endlessly through records and reports. He strained his eyes until he could barely see and only then did he take a break. He slaved over his desk, trying to find some clue that would lead him to her. He was convinced not to let anyone help him. They might overlook something that would mean nothing to most people and everything to Sydney. That had happened once. An intern had been assigned to Vaughn to add in his search, before Vaughn had refused all help, and had overlooked something. An ATM statement. Sydney had withdrawn money but had done it on one her alias's cards. The intern didn't recognize the name and tossed it aside. Vaughn had been sifting through some papers when he spotted the statement. That's what finally made him deny all help from anyone. He knew her the best and he would be the one to find her.  
  
_Well, you're not gonna find her if you don't get your ass to work,_ He told himself, forcing himself to get up off the bed and stumble into the shower. Of course, he shed his pajamas before entering the shower. Wet P.J.s were not something he wanted to deal with in the morning.  
  
"Mike, man, are you here?" Weiss called after Vaughn had exited the shower and had put on some clothes.  
  
_Thank God for that. The last person I want seeing me naked is Weiss or maybe Jack. Ah well, hell, both of them are never going to see me naked. Unless I'm dead. And even then, I'll be covering my eyes and grimacing while looking down, or would it be looking up. I wonder if I am going to heaven or hell. Probably hell. Being a spy doesn't earn you brownie points with the big man upstairs. And if that doesn't land me in hell, my dreams of Sydney will do the trick. What can I say, I'm a man. Men dream. I dream of Sydney. End of story._  
  
"Hello? Mike? Anyone home?"  
  
_Crap, should probably say something so he doesn't think I'm dead or something._ _And knowing Eric, he would think I'm dead._ "I'll be out in a minute."  
  
"Okay." Weiss answered and Vaughn could hear the refrigerator door opening. _I wonder if giving that man a key to my apartment was a good idea. I swear he eats more of my food than I do._ "So do you remember that bar?"  
  
"Yes," Vaughn answered. He could almost hear Weiss's thoughts to bring him to another bar, so he added, "But I don't remember how I got home and my head is killing me."  
  
"Well, I guess that's close enough. So we gonna get drunk again tonight?" 

"No, we're not." Vaughn answered, making an appearance in the living room where Weiss was slumped over the coach eating a left over sandwich. "But you can get drunk all you want, tonight. I'm not going out."  
  
"Dude, don't tell me that you're going to work yourself into a hole again tonight."  
  
"I'm planning on it." Vaughn answered, grabbing an espresso drink out of the fridge. No time for hot coffee this morning. "And don't try to talk me out of it. I'm a grown man I can do what I want and you can't stop me."  
  
Weiss shrugged, "Whatever man, I just don't want you to kill yourself trying to find her. It's not gonna do her or you any good." _Most likely because I'll end up in hell._ Vaughn added, silently for him. _Yay, hell. I can't wait._  
  
()  
  
"Good morning, Agent Vaughn. Good morning, Agent Weiss." The JTF main office's secretary, Wendy said with a wide smile.  
  
"Good morning, Wendy." Both men replied and continued on their way to their respective offices which were at opposite ends of the Joint Task Force. A blessing sometimes, in Vaughn's mind. _Eric's a good guy and all but all day with him and his jokes, five days a week would drive me insane. And I can't really find Sydney if I'm in the nut house._  
  
They reached Vaughn's office first and with some persuasion, Weiss kept walking to his own office. Vaughn took off his suit jacket, throwing it on its familiar spot on the couch. He didn't bother with hanging it up anymore. That would take too much time.  
  
"Agent Vaughn, these came in this morning." Jack Bristow half set, half tossed a manila folder down on Vaughn's desk.  
  
"Thanks, Jack." Vaughn answered, trying to be friendly.  
  
"You're welcome, _Agent_ Vaughn." Jack answered, stressing the Agent part and exiting Vaughn's office promptly after.  
  
_Okay, so he's not in a friendly kind of mood today. Not that he ever is really. That man is definitely going to hell. No question about that. So is Irina. Actually, come to think of it, it seems that the whole Bristow-Derevko clan is going to hell. Except Sydney, of course. God wouldn't turn away someone like Sydney. Me, on the other hand._ Vaughn rubbed his head, which was still reeling from last night's events and started to flip through the pages in the folder. _What is it with me and hell today? Everything turns into whether I'm going to hell or not. Well, here's to hoping that it doesn't happen for a while. I don't want to see God or Satan until I'm like old and wrinkly and grey-haired. Not that that would ever happen to me. Old, wrinkly, and grey-haired aren't really my look._ Vaughn shook his head, trying to get his mind off the idea of hell and growing old and focus on finding Sydney.  
  
_Ring, ring, ring.  
_  
His desk phone started ringing. _Thank God, I need a distraction away from the subject of hell._ He thought, reaching for the phone. "Agent Vaughn here."  
  
"Geez Mike, you sound so desk agenty."  
  
_Juliette. The sister, great._ "Thanks Jules. Did you have a reason for calling me or is it just to bug me?"  
  
"If I said to bug you, you'd hang up on me." Juliette laughed.  
  
_Well, she's got me there. I would do that._ "Then I'm hanging up, right?" He asked, with a laugh.  
  
"Ha. Ha. Mike, very funny."  
  
"Get to the point, already."  
  
"Alright, geez relax." Juliette answered. Then she took a deep breath. _Uh, oh, bad news_, was Vaughn's first thought. "David and I are coming to L.A. next week, with the kids." She said at last.  
  
_Oh, God, the kids. Kill me. Kill me now._ "That's nice." He answered, starting to flip through the papers again. He knew what she wanted.  
  
"Mike, come on, you're their uncle. They love and miss you. All I ask for is one hour. Mike, are you even listening to me?" Vaughn didn't answer immediately. Instead, he just stared at the photo in the folder. "Mike? Hello? Earth to Mike, come in."  
  
Vaughn snapped out of his little daze long enough to say, "I'll call you back, Jules. Something's come up." He hung up the phone before she had the chance to respond. He bolted from the office, grabbing his jacket and the photo.  
  
He rushed past Weiss, who had to pretty much dive out of the way to escape a collision with Vaughn. "What's up with you, man?"  
  
"I found her." Vaughn answered, not slowing his pace.  
  
Weiss stared shocked for a moment, then ran after him. "What?"  
  
Vaughn handed him the photo, speeding up his pace, "That was taken by a post office surveillance camera two days ago. She's in Colorado."  
  
Weiss managed to hand the photo back to Vaughn and asked, "What are you planning on doing?"  
  
"I'm going to Colorado."

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A/N: Since I got questions about it, Lea is **not** Vaughn's child. Let us do the math for a moment. Vaughn is like 30 or so in this story. Lea is like 14 because she is a freshman in high school.. So, _if _Vaughn were Lea's father, he would have been 16 when she was born. And yeah, why would Lea be in Colorado while Vaughn's still in California? 

**Dora**- Well, I hope that Vaughn found her soon enough for ya. And I can promise you that it will be interesting when they meet.

**Ren201**- I love stories where Syd leaves too, I think that's why I wrote this fic.

**TheUptownGirl**- Um, yeah, you asked me if Lea's dad was french. And the answer is, I guess so. My dad's not french but I ask him for help with my french homework, so that's where the inspiration for her needing help came from.

**Strawbery Popsicle**- Okay, I feel like I have to defend my writing a little bit. The last chapter was still kinda setting things up for the story. I didn't take care of it all in the prologue and wanted to add more stuff to Syd's new life. And the things I mentioned in the second chapter did help with the developement of the plot. Syd's mental to-do list included going to the post office which is where the photo of her that helped Vaughn locate her was taken. And Mrs. Ashley and Angelique are going to have places in the plot. Along with the things that Syd has to do during the weekend. To name one, the school dance. I appreciate the help and I took some of the things you said into consideration. I just got the feeling that you were attacking my writing a little after only two chapters.

**Fair Cate**- I loved the scene where she ran into someone like Vaughn, too. I was like, okay have to have her run into someone that looks like Vaughn and have her freak out cause it's brilliant. Apparently I was right.

**Agent Flamingo**- I think she always looks good in red hair too! I don't think she looks good with blonde or black. It has to be brown or red. Nothing else. You would think they would learn that the CIA. It's like, come on people, give her a believable hair color.

**Maddy**- Thanks. I like that you called it awesome.

**daisyduke947**- I admit that it would be a twist to have Vaughn be Lea's dad, but I don't think that's where I'm going with this. I explained why she isn't Vaughn's daughter in the author's note, so yeah, too lazy to rewrite it.

**Rach5**- I'm posting as fast as I can but I've two other stories and a lot of other things going on. I wonder where I find the time to write my stories sometimes.


	4. He flew to Colorado, she got ready for t...

"Mrs. Birkland? Hi, this is Paige Waters, Roxy's teacher. Yes, she is a sweet girl. Yes, but-. Mrs. Birkland? Can I finish please? Thank you. I was calling to inform you that Roxy received detention today. Why? Because she interrupted my class again and that is unacceptable. You want to talk to her? Okay, hold on," Sydney lowered the phone from her ear and held it out for the junior in front of her, "She wants to speak with you." Roxy grimaced and took the phone.  
  
"Psst, Paige." Sydney looked to the doorway to see another teacher, Rachel Redman waving her over.  
  
"I'll be right back. Behave yourselves." Sydney said to the classroom full of detentionees and walked over to Rachel. "Hey, what's up?"  
  
"Are you still chaperoning the dance tonight?"  
  
"Was planning on it, way? Is it cancelled?" _Please let it be canceled and let me go home and take a long, hot, overdue bath. I beg you. Be cancelled._  
  
"No, no," Rachel shook her head. "I was just checking."  
  
_Crap, crap, crap. Why couldn't it be cancelled? What does the head honcho have against me? I know, being an ex-spy. That's what He's got against me. Stupid spy-dom, why did I have to be a spy? Why did I accept that bald man's offer and get sucked into the SD-6 fiasco? Why didn't I just say 'no thanks' and toss the card in the trash? Because you were an idiot. Yep, that's why._ Sydney managed to smile, "Okay. I'll be here tonight at 7."  
  
"Great," Rachel smiled, then glanced over Sydney's shoulder. "Ah, detention duty, again."  
  
Sydney made a face, "Yeah, again. Remind me why I became a teacher."  
  
"Because you wanted to help other people's kids succeed in life."  
  
Sydney laughed, "Yeah, that's it and the lousy pay." _Not that standard government pay is any better. For all those trashy outfits I had to wear, they could at least have given me a raise. But no, I remained with my meager paycheck to get buy every month. I still do. Sometimes I miss having a roommate. Half the rent, half the worries. Except my last roommate was Francie. No one can replace Francie and it's not like I'm about to fly her out here, so I can have someone, besides Angelique, to live with again._ "So I'll see you on Monday, unless you're coming to the dance." (A/N: okay, we're pretending again and saying that Francie wasn't doubled. Okay, so no evil Francie. Got that?)  
  
Rachel laughed, "No way. I get enough of these rascals during school."  
  
_Tell me about it. Sometimes I just want to rip up all the papers I have to grade and go to the spa. Ah, the spa. They have massages at the spa. You can take long, luxurious baths at the spa. I can get a manicure and pedicure at the spa. I could live at the spa and never get tired of it. Yeah, but then my bank account would go right down the drain and they'd kick me out on the street._ "Yeah, okay. See ya."  
  
"See ya." Rachel repeated, then left Sydney to her detention duty.  
  
Sydney turned back to her class of detentionees and smiled knowingly. Roxy had finished talking to her mom and was seated again. "Okay, who's next?"  
  
()  
  
"Dude, stop pacing. It really won't make the plane go any faster. Trust me." Vaughn nodded and sat down impatiently on one of the leather seats in the private CIA plane. He tapped his finger on his leg, willing time to move faster. "And don't tap your finger cause that's annoying."  
  
"What do you suggest I do then, Weiss?" Vaughn snapped.  
  
"Snappy much?" Weiss joked. Vaughn glared at Weiss, telling him that he wasn't in the mood for jokes. "Okay, then, no jokes. So what are you thinking about?"  
  
"What am I thinking about?" Vaughn repeated, standing up and resuming pacing. "What do you think I'm thinking about? I haven't seen her in three years. What if she's dating someone? What if she's married? What if she has kids? What if she doesn't remember me? What if she hates me and tell me to go to hell?" Which I headed to anyway.  
  
"Whoa," Weiss said, holding up a hand and stopping Vaughn's ranting, "That's a lot of what ifs and you have no proof of any of them actually being true. You don't even know what her name is."  
  
"Her name is Sydney Bristow."  
  
"That's not what I mean. Don't tell me that you honestly believe that she kept the name Sydney Bristow. If she had done that, you would have found her within a month."  
  
"I know, I know." Vaughn answered, nodding along and still not ceasing to pace.  
  
"So how do you plan on finding out her name? Are you going to search all of Denver by knocking on every single door?"  
  
"No. First we're gonna go to the post office that the photo was taken at and ask them if they know her."  
  
Weiss resisted the urge to tell him to stop pacing and nodded, "That's a big if."  
  
"It's all we've got and we are so close to finding her." _So close. Three years of searching and I can't wait two more hours until this damn plane lands. Well, I never was known for my over powering ability to be patient. I think the only person I've ever been truly patient with is Sydney. Duh, I'd wait until the end of time to have her._  
  
"Are you even sure this is her?" Weiss asked, studying the kinda blurry photo again. The woman in it looked exactly like Sydney only with red hair.  
  
"Yeah, I'm sure. Don't tell me that you honestly believe that that she kept her original hair color." Vaughn answered, taking the photo from Weiss to look at for the thousandth time in less than eight hours since he first saw it.  
  
Weiss made a face a Vaughn mocking him, "Okay, so, what did Jack say when you told him that you found her?" Vaughn stopped pacing and turned to face Weiss, looking confused and guilty. "You did tell him didn't you?"  
  
Vaughn shook his head, "No, not really. Why you think I should have?"  
  
"I would've."  
  
"You would?"  
  
"Definitely. That is one man I don't want hating me."  
  
_Well, lucky for me, he already hates me. I wonder if that's because I'm in love with Sydney or if it's because I insisted on being the one to head the search to find her and not him. Nah, knowing a man like Jack it has nothing to do with Sydney and everything to do with my haircut. Yeah, that's it. He doesn't like the spiky hair thing. Too bad Jack, Sydney adores it. That's probably why I've gotten the same hair cut for the past five years of my life ever since she walked into my life and then back out again. Man, am I pathetic or what?_  
  
"Mike, ya listening?"  
  
Vaughn snapped out of his train of thoughts and nodded, "Yeah, I'm listening. You really think I should have told him?"  
  
Weiss nodded, gravely, "Oh yeah, you really should have told him."  
  
_Great, just great. Oh well, I deal with it after I find Sydney._ "So how long til we land?"  
  
Weiss checked his watch, "One hour, fifty four minutes, and forty-seven seconds." Vaughn wanted to scream. This was without a doubt, the longest plane trip ever.  
  
()  
  
"What do you think of this one?" Sydney held up a blue-black dress. She held the hanger to her shoulders and twirled a little with it. "That bad, huh?" Sydney thrust out the dress to get a look at it, her head tilting to the side a little. "Yeah, it's crap." She tossed the dress, hanger, and all on the growing pile of clothes on her bed. "Okay, how about this one?" She asked, holding up a shirt/skirt combo. It was nice burgundy color that complimented her hair color, which she had freshly redyed a couple weeks before.  
  
Angelique nodded her approvement, as much as a dog could nod, and Sydney smiled. "Yeah, I like it too." _He liked it, also. No he loved it. He always said I looked the most beautiful in it._ She set it on her chair, gently and headed towards her bathroom. Angelique jumped off the bed and followed. "No, no Angelique, you can't come in here darling. I need you to guard my dress." Sydney said, picking up the puppy and setting her down outside the bathroom. Normally she would let Angelique wander into the bathroom if she wanted but tonight she was running late, again, and didn't have the time to worry about a puppy underfoot.  
  
A half hour later, she emerged from the bathroom, wrapped in her robe. Her hair and makeup were finished and all she had left to do was get dressed. Instead of going to the chair, Sydney plopped down on her bed and sighed. _It's like getting ready for a date yet knowing that there is no possibility of anyone following me home. Why do I have to look nice for these damned dances? I always hated that part of high school. I went to my sophomore homecoming dance in jeans just to prove my point that it was stupid to dress up. And yet here I am, a thirty-year-old woman and I'm dressing up for a high school dance._ With another sigh, she heaved herself off the bed and crossed the short distance to the chair  
  
She shed the robe and redressed in the shirt/skirt combo in less than five minutes. Staring at herself in the mirror, she fidgeted with the shirt for a couple seconds before standing still and just staring. She could almost feel his cool hand on her stomach and his warm breath on her neck, whispering about how much he loved her in between soft kisses. Unconsciously, she smiled dreamily and leaned back expecting to fall back on his broad chest. But no, he wasn't there. She caught herself before she toppled backwards and with one last glance at the mirror, she fled the apartment.  
  
_Don't think about it. Don't think about him. Don't cry. You can't cry. People are going to ask questions. Remember why you left him. It's for his own good. Don't cry. Don't cry._ Sydney impatiently tapped her foot on the carpet, waiting for the elevator to reach her floor.  
  
"Paige, darling." Mrs. Ashley said, cheerily, coming up behind Sydney. She noticed Sydney's troubled expression and asked, "Is everything okay, dear?"  
  
Sydney wiped at her eyes hastily, brushing away evidence of impending tears, and smiled at Mrs. Ashley, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just remembering."  
  
Mrs. Ashley nodded. She believed the story that Sydney had been married and her husband had died and Sydney was still grieving over it. Sydney never bothered to correct her. "Is it the anniversary of his death?"  
  
Sydney sniffled and nodded, "I guess you could say that." _Why is this damned elevator taking so long?_ As if on cue, the elevator door dinged and she stepped in promptly, "I'll see you later, Mrs. Ashley."  
  
"All right, dear." Mrs. Ashley replied before the doors closed.  
  
Sydney punched the emergency stop button and sank to floor of the elevator. She had forgotten what day it was. Three years ago today, was the first time she and Vaughn had made love. _How could I forget that? Why do I always forget that? Every freaking year I forget. I think I make myself forget only to have something remind me cruelly._ Slowly, Sydney regained her composure and stood up, lightly pressing the bottom floor button. The elevator lurched and continued it downward decent as Sydney continued to wipe away her tears. _Don't think about it. Don't cry. You did it to protect him and crying your eyes out about doing so, isn't going to help. Don't cry._

* * *

A/N: Alrighty, children, apparently I'm messing with Vaughn's age in this as well. I don't think that they ever say how much older than Syd he is, so I'm going to say that he is five years older. So, in this story, he's 35 and Syd is 30, okay? I don't really care if that's how old they are in the Alias timeline. This is an AU, ya know. 

**Rach5**- That's okay, really. I get that question a lot and that's usually the answer I give. Sorry if I sounded grumpy or sleepy or any of the other seven dwarves.

**Charmed-angel4**- After season two, and I thought he was 35 in the last episode of the third season. Ah well, anyway, the age thing is described above. So read that if you haven't.

**Fair Cate**- Yes, well, dropping everything for Sydney is like the Vaughn we all know and love. I thought the phone call with his sister was a funny thing, too.

**Dora**- Really? But like I said, do any of us really know what Vaughn thinks? Apparently in my little world, he thinks about hell and getting old. hehe, two things that tend to go hand in hand.

**TheUptownGirl**- Yeah, I was thinking that too. I understand where you're coming from and that could be a neat story idea. Ya know, have Vaughn have a kid and then Sydney finds out about it. hmmm, interesting.

**Heidi**- And you shall get your meeting soon, like the next chapter.

**Julia**- Thanks. Newcomers are always welcome cause I am desperate for human contact and for me that means reviews.

**Ren201**- That would be interesting if someone else found her wouldn't it? Maybe someone will maybe they won't. I'm going to have to think about.

**dreamcatchr88**- Yes, I do do I think you left me a response for one of my other stories there, It's about life. My name on is Vaughn'n'Syd4eva if that helps. Anyway, do you think I should put this story on sd-1? And I don't understand the whole well rounded critique thing either.

**daisyduke947**- Yeah, I figured she would be pissed and probably kick his you know what. But that would be an interesting story idea, don't you think?


	5. Finding Sydney

Sydney stopped in the bathroom after reaching the high school. She glanced and the mirror and almost gasped. She looked horrible. Her eyes were bloodshot and teary. Her nose was red. Her hair was everywhere. And somehow, her shirt had managed to twist itself almost all the way around. She looked like she had just come from a wake and had gotten laid.  
  
Sydney straightened out her shirt and calmed her hair. _Thank God, I didn't do anything special with it._ Then she pulled out her concealer from her purse and applied ample an amount to her nose and the baggies under her eyes that were starting to form. She wiped at the tears and took a few deep breaths in an effort to calm her nerves and get rid of the bloodshot eyes. Once she was satisfied with her appearance, she proceeded to the gym.  
  
"Paige!" A fellow teacher and tonight fellow chaperone for the school dance, Remy called out and waved to Sydney.  
  
Sydney waved back and made her way across the almost empty gym to Remy. The dance had just started and not many kids showed up right on time. That was just uncool. "Hey."  
  
"What's wrong?" Remy asked, immediately.  
  
Sydney let her jaw drop slightly at the blunt question, "Nothing." _Liar, liar, pants on fire, hanging from a telephone wire. I need to get out more.  
_  
"Liar."  
  
_Please don't start saying the rhyme._  
  
"Something's wrong, I can sense it."  
  
"Nothing's wrong," Sydney insisted. _Am I that transparent? I used to be so good at lying. What happened to that?_ Remy raised an eyebrow, so Sydney added a "really."

"Come on, you can tell me. It's not like I'm going to tell anyone."  
  
_True, one thing Remy could do was keep a secret._ Sydney sighed, "Okay. Today is the anniversary of the day I meet Michael." _Liar, liar, pants on fire, hanging from a telephone wire. Stupid rhyme, leave me alone!  
_  
Remy nodded. Sydney had told people that her lost love's name was Michael because well, it was. She just conveniently left out his last name. "Good or bad thing?"  
  
"I haven't decided yet." _And I haven't. It was perfect, to say the least, that night but I know that it will never happen again and well, that sucks. That sucks? I spend way too much time around my students._  
  
"Why don't you go home? I can take care of the dance and you obviously are two minutes away from a mental breakdown." Remy suggested.  
  
"I'm fine. I'm not going to start crying in front of all the students. I'll be fine." _Liar, liar, pants on fire, hanging from a telephone wire. Bah, stop with the rhyme already. It's going to drive me insane.  
_  
"Okay, if you insist."  
  
"I insist."  
  
()  
  
"Vaughn, dude, would you just wait for a second?"  
  
Vaughn stopped his almost running pace and waited for Weiss to catch up with him. _Come on Eric, move your butt faster. This is Sydney we're talking about._ "Do you have to walk so slow?"  
  
"Do you have to run so fast?" Weiss countered, finally catching up with Vaughn.  
  
"Weiss, it's Sydney."  
  
"I know, I know. You lucked out on the post office worker knowing who she was and that she's going to be at the high school tonight." Weiss suddenly thought of something, "You don't think that kid is stalking her, do you?"  
  
"Were you even listening? He said that she was his teacher and that she was chaperoning the dance tonight." Vaughn answered, impatiently, as both men proceeded across the high school parking lot towards the well lit building.  
  
"Okay, so I didn't hear that. What name did he call her again?"  
  
"Ms. Waters." Vaughn replied, automatically. "She's an English teacher."  
  
"Figures," Weiss muttered under his breath.  
  
Vaughn threw him a look before being stopped by a teacher at the front door of the school. "Excuse me, sir, but students only."  
  
Vaughn glanced over her shoulder, trying to see if he could get a glimpse of Sydney. But all he saw in the hallway behind the teacher was a bunch of students heading towards the gym. _She must be in the gym._ He pulled out his CIA badge and flashed it at the woman, "Agent Vaughn, CIA. I have to speak with Ms. Waters."  
  
"What did Paige do?"  
  
_Paige. Paige Waters. Interesting choice in names, Syd. I would have figured you more as a Kate Jones. But then again, that would have been too obvious._ Vaughn looked back at the woman, "I can't say."  
  
"Then I can't let you in." The woman answered.  
  
Vaughn considered pulling his gun on her and threatening her to let him in. He was that desperate to get to Sydney. "It's classified. I am only authorized to speak to Ms. Waters about it. Now if you don't mind, I would like to get in."  
  
"Do you have a weapon on you?"  
  
_Of course I have a weapon on me, I'm a freaking agent of the CIA._ "No." He answered._ Liar, liar, pants on fire, hanging from a telephone wire. Man, I hate that rhyme.  
_  
The woman studied him for a moment before nodding, "Alright, and what about your friend?"  
  
"What friend?"  
  
She gestured behind him to Weiss. "That friend."  
  
_Oh man, now Weiss is pissed cause I forgot about him. Oh well, he can kick my ass after I talk to Sydney._ "Ask him." Vaughn answered, slipping past the woman into the high school. _Come on kids, move! Official CIA business here. Okay, maybe not, but it may as well be. I can pull a gun on people on official CIA business and I'm about ready to do that._ Vaughn tried to push his way through the mass of high school students but was unsuccessful. He had to wait his turn to get into the gym just like everybody else.  
  
Once in the gym, he immediately started searching for Sydney. _Damnit, why do these freaking kids have to be so tall? Why can't Sydney teach middle schoolers? The majority of middle schoolers are not six feet tall._ Unable to distinguish her by height, he started searching the heads for red hair like in the photo he had memorized by now.  
  
He thought he had spotted Sydney three separate times before giving up on the red hair thing. _Okay, Syd, you can't be this freaking hard to find._ He considered asking one of the students if they knew where Ms. Waters was but none of the students seemed to show any interest in him or even acknowledge his presence.  
  
Sighing, Vaughn made his way over to the refreshment table to get something to drink. _Most likely the punch is spiked. But that's good, I could use some alcohol right now._ He grabbed a cup of punch and took a sip. No, it wasn't spiked._ Hmmm, kids these days must be getting soft. In my day, every dance you went to had spiked punch. In my day? God, I'm getting old. Say hello to grey hair, and wrinkles and hell. Hi hell!_  
  
He tossed the cup in the trash after finishing off the punch and proceeded to look around the dance again. And suddenly there she was. Near the east wall of the gym, stood Sydney talking to what looked like a fellow teacher. Sydney laughed at something the other teacher said and Vaughn swore that time stood still. He had found her. Finally, after three years of tirelessly searching, he had found her. She was still just a beautiful as he remembered her if not more. She still had those same dimples when she laughed.  
  
_Oh God, I've found her.  
_  
Without thinking, he yelled out her name. "Sydney!"  
  
()  
  
"Okay, new less depressing topic. What was your worst high school memory?"  
  
"Besides school dances?" Sydney joked. "Um, that would have to be when my boyfriend broke up with me in front of everyone on Valentine's Day."  
  
Remy made a sympathetic grimace, "Oh, that doesn't sound nice."  
  
"Well, the guy was a jerk anyway." Sydney shrugged, "What about you?"  
  
"Okay don't laugh."  
  
"I won't." Sydney promised. _Liar, liar, pants on fire, hanging from a telephone wire. That's it. I'm definitely taking next weekend off to visit my "relatives".  
_  
"Alright, one time I got dared to go up to the vice principal and kiss him on the cheek. So I did it because I do not shy away from dares. Little did I know that someone was taping the entire thing and the next day the tape was all over the morning announcements."  
  
Sydney burst out laughing. Remy made a small protesting noise that sounded something like "uh" but didn't stop her from laughing. Sydney needed to laugh. She needed a distraction from what today was.  
  
Then came the word that caused Sydney's smile to fade and terror to flash through her eyes.  
  
"Sydney!"  
  
She had never thought that she was hear that name spoken towards her again. For a split second, she hoped that the man that called out her name was referring to someone else before she remembered that none of the students at the high school were named Sydney. She had checked. She checked every year.  
  
But there it was.  
  
That name.  
  
Her name.  
  
No, her old name. She wasn't Sydney anymore. She was Paige. Paige Waters. Sydney Bristow didn't exist anymore. Or so she thought.  
  
As she turned her head to see who called out Sydney, her heart stopped beating for a moment. It was him. He had found her. After three years of thinking she was free of her old life, she had been found. He still looked the same as he did three years ago when she last saw him, minus the hospital bed. He had those same green eyes that seemed to single her out and put her on display for the entire world, making her feel adored and alone all at the same time.  
  
Her body began rebelling against her mind and started yearning for his body to touch hers. It wanted his breath on her neck and face and stomach. It wanted his hands on her sides and back and in her hair. But her mind overpowered her body's ability to move. She stood frozen, like a deer caught in the headlights watching him make his way towards her.  
  
_Oh God, he's found me._  
  
And never before had she been so scared of any man. Especially Michael Vaughn.

* * *

A/N: hehe, cliffhanger!

**Strawberry popsicle**- Okay, I think you misunderstood what I was trying to say because I misunderstood what you were trying to say. Don't you just hate mix-ups? Anyway, I take total credit for sounding like a biotch, I just wasn't reading things right. I do appreciate critism, as long as it isn't negative and then I get mad, and your tip really did help me with focusing on the plot of this and some of my other stories. I feel really bad for my kinda nasty response before. And if you can accept my apology, I would gladly accept any critism you have, as long as it isn't negative but I've already said that. Really, I would. Again, I'm sorry for what I said.

**TheUptownGirl**- Of course, she still loves him. This is Syndey we're talking about. She's going to love him until the day she dies.

**Dora**- I'd cry over Vaughn. I'd drool over him too but then again, I've already drooled over him. Not something I'm incredibly proud of but I have no shame in admitting it.

**Julia**- hehe, human contact is wise and keeps me from going even more insane. Ha, he found her, betcha can't guess what's she gonna do.

**cg's-gal-72689**- I'm not good with tension either but I wanted to drag this out as long as I could. And that was about five chapters. hmm, definately not good with the waiting thing.

**Fair Cate**- Yay, you like the plance scene. I like the plane scene. No one else commented on the plane thing and I felt kinda bad and then you mentioned it and I was like "yay! someone else likes it!" So yeah, yay!

**alexis**- Thanks. I like the awesome comment. That make me very happy.

**wicked-sista**- Yeah, I think you read another of my fics too. I can't remember exactly which one either but one of them. I have so many, okay not really, I'm just really bad with remembering things.

**Charmed-angel4**- huh? what do you get? I have the worst memory ever, like in the history of the universe. I'm surprised I can even remember my name. Minor feat, I know but my memory is that bad sometimes.

**spykid**- Yeah, in my own little world, Vaughn never gave up on Syd and Lauren never existed and Syd never disappeared for two years. I think that's why all my Alias fics exclude the third season. No Vaughn giving up, no Lauren, and no Syd missing for two years. None. I hope the fourth season is good or someone is going to get an earful.

**Erin**- hehe, he found her. And soon. I know, I'm sounding a little wierd, okay a lot weird but I'm hyped up on a chocolate mocha at the moment. So very very hyper I am. Do you like mochas? I do! I love them! So good, I'm going to get another one. Many many mochas. Sorry if I'm scaring you.


	6. The Dinner

A/N: Sorry about my lack of updating. I have things going on that take away from my time writing and you're not the only one who's pissed about it. Working as hard and as fast as I can without giving y'all crappy chapters. It's going to be very interesting when school actually starts. :shrug: I'll just do my writing during classes when I'm supposed to be paying attention. What can they be teaching that's important? Anyone? I didn't think so. And I got the screwy end of the stick when the servers crashed and I couldn't get into document manager for all of yesterday and all day today until now!

Also, let me know if you think that I rushed this chapter. You'll see what I mean.

* * *

She considered running. Running from the gym, past all her students, past the staring eyes, past everything and disappearing again. But for some reason, her body refused to move. Her mind kept telling it to move and it kept telling her mind that she needed him. Needless to say, it was confusing.  
  
Vaughn was by her side in a heartbeat and instantly he reached out for her. His warm hand on her arm snapped her back to reality and she spoke. "No." Her voice was barely above a whisper but he heard it.  
  
"No?" He repeated, staring at her.  
  
"Paige, who is this?" Remy asked, looking from Sydney to Vaughn and back to Sydney.  
  
"Someone I knew a long time ago." Sydney answered. She put on a smile for her friend and added, "Excuse us." She grabbed Vaughn's arm and dragged him through one of the doors in the gym and outside, away from all the curious pairs of eyes. Outside, they were alone. And instantly, she regretted the decision. Things happen when a man and a woman are alone. "What the hell are you doing here?" She asked.  
  
"I could ask you the same thing," He answered.  
  
"I'm doing my job and chaperoning the school dance." Sydney answered. He took a step towards her and she took a step back. _Distance, we need distance. If we're too close, I won't be able to stop what will happen._  
  
He was disappointed that she stepped back but didn't make the move to step towards her again. "Syd..."  
  
She interrupted him, "Paige. My name's Paige."  
  
"Sydney..."  
  
"Paige," She almost yelled at him. "Don't call me Sydney. I'm not Sydney."  
  
"You seem like Sydney to me."  
  
"Appearances can be deceiving." She answered.  
  
"So I've heard." He replied.  
  
She knew what he meant, she had written that line in the note that she had left him, "appearances can be deceiving." "What do you want from me?" She asked in a hoarse whisper.  
  
"I want you to come home. I want you to say that you love me and made a mistake by running. I want you to come back to me and promise that you'll never leave again. I want you, Sydney. "  
  
"No," She answered. He watched her closely, convinced that she was lying. One thing she wasn't good at was lying to him and he could clearly see that she was lying. "Did you read the files I told you to?" Changing the subject in a not so subtle way.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"All of them?" She persisted.  
  
"Yes, all of them." He answered, "Wait, is that why you left? Because of something your father did to you almost twenty-five years ago?" She nodded weakly and he swore under his breath, "Jesus, Syd, why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you talk to me? I would've helped."  
  
"And I would have ended up hurting you." She countered.  
  
"You hurt me by leaving, Sydney."  
  
She didn't bother to correct him. It wasn't like she was going to be Paige much longer anyway. Not now that she had been found. _I'm going to have to leave Colorado and the entire teaching profession after this._ "They would have killed you."  
  
"Who's 'they'?" He asked.  
  
"The people that my father turned my life over to. They killed Danny, not because he knew about SD-6 but because they wanted to cause me pain and see what I did. They wanted me to suffer."  
  
"Do you know that for a fact or did you just make that up?" He asked, seriously.  
  
She stared at him, "You think that I made up the reason why my fiancé died?"  
  
"What do you want me to think, Syd? You're not making any sense."  
  
"I am not going to be the reason that another man I loved dies," She said firmly.  
  
He didn't say anything, instead he closed the distance between them. His hands went to her face, cupping it and his thumbs gently brushing away her tears. "Do you love me?" She didn't answer. "Sydney, do you love me?" He persisted.  
  
"I can't," She whispered. She pushed off his hands and took several steps back. The cool night breeze chilled her tear streaked face and she shivered unconsciously. She turned to walk away when he yelled out.  
  
"Sydney! Wait!" She stopped, turning her ear slightly towards him, telling him that she was listening. "Do you want to go to dinner?"  
  
She spun around on her heel and stared him in the eye, "What did you just say?"  
  
"Would you like to go to dinner?" He repeated.  
  
"Are you insane?"  
  
"Quite possibly."  
  
"We haven't seen each other in three years and within the first ten minutes you ask me to dinner?" She asked, though the question could have been mistaken for a statement.  
  
He nodded, "Just one dinner. And we're both dressed for it anyway."  
  
She looked down at her outfit and then at his. He was still wearing his work suit from that morning, minus the tie and with the top couple buttons undone. Slowly her eyes made their way back up to his face and she nodded, "Alright, one dinner."  
  
()  
  
"You look beautiful," Vaughn commented after the waiter had seated them. With a quick explanation to Weiss and an apology to Remy for leaving her alone with the kids, the couple took off in Sydney's car to the nearest restaurant that wasn't fast food. They ended up at a Macaroni Grill.  
  
Sydney glared at him across the table. "Don't," She warned. To emphasize her point that she wasn't in the mood for complements, she picked up her menu and started to study it intensely.  
  
He didn't get her warning or he did and chose to ignore it. "Syd," He said, gently, reaching across the table to lower the menu from her hands, "I love that outfit on you."  
  
"Vaughn...Michael...please don't." She whispered, raising the menu again.  
  
"Can we at least have a conversation without your menu in the way?" He asked.  
  
She half smiled and lowered the menu from her face, again. "What do you want to talk about?"  
  
"How about what you've been doing these past three years."  
  
"Vaughn," She said, with a warning tone.  
  
He gave up on that topic as well, "Okay, how about, do you like your new hair?"  
  
She twisted strand of her hand around her finger, thinking about it, "Yeah, I guess. Though I miss being a brunette sometimes."  
  
"If you came back to L.A. you could be a brunette again." He answered, suggestively.  
  
"Vaughn," She warned again. _One thing you can't say he isn't is persistent. He's got to be the most persistent man on the face of the Earth. Which, if I didn't love him, would be very annoying. Wait, did I say 'love him'? I don't love him. Not anymore at least. Or do I?  
_  
"Okay, okay, we'll drop that as well. Are you dating anyone?"  
  
Her head came up sharply. _She definitely wasn't expecting that question, but a guy's gotta know._ Slowly she shook her head, no, "No, I'm not and in answer to your next question, I'm not married either."  
  
_Damn, this woman can read my mind or she just knows me too well_, "Okay."  
  
"What about you? Are you seeing anybody?"  
  
He shook his head, "Nope, and I didn't get married either, if that's what you're thinking."  
  
"I wasn't." She answered. "So, how's Donovan?"  
  
He wanted to laugh. Only Sydney would bring up his dog at dinner. "He's doing okay, though it was hard to explain to him why his favorite girlfriend of mine wasn't coming back."  
  
"Vaughn," She warned, again. _Three times in one night, that's got to be like a record or something. I'm not sure what kind of record but it's definitely got to be one._  
  
"Sorry Syd but I can't leave it alone." He lowered his voice before adding, "It's all I can do to stay sitting here and not reach across the table and kiss you senseless right here in the middle of the restaurant."  
  
"Please don't." She answered, half as a joke and half as a request.  
  
"You never answered my question." He said, accepting her request and leaning back in his chair a little.  
  
She took a sip of water before answering, "Which one?"  
  
He wanted to say "Do you love me?" but didn't. He knew what she would say. The same thing that she had before. _What was it again, oh yeah, 'I can't.' What the hell does that mean, Syd? Does it mean that you do love me and you don't think you can? Or does it mean that you don't know the answer to my question so you say 'I can't.' instead of 'I don't know.'_ Instead he said, "Why didn't you talk to me about what you had found? You know I would have listened and done everything I could to help you."  
  
She hung her head in shame for a second before looking up at him, "I don't know, okay? I don't know why I didn't tell you. I just snapped when I read those files and talking didn't seem like a valid option."  
  
"And running did?" He asked.  
  
"No, not really but it was all I could think of that didn't include the barrel of a gun and no, I wasn't going to kill myself. More like kill my father and those bastards."  
  
He let out the breath he had taken in when she said, 'the barrel of a gun'. The thought that Sydney might have at one time considering killing herself scared him. But no, she said that she would have killed her father. _Not that I would object to Jack Bristow no longer hovering behind me ready to shoot me._ "Why won't you come back?"  
  
To his amazement, she answered, "Because they could find me and they might hurt you. I couldn't live with myself if you died because of me. I love you too much."  
  
_She loves me. She said it. She loves me. Sydney Bristow loves me._ Though his mind was racing, Vaughn managed to keep a straight face, "You know, I think Jack is more likely to kill me than who ever it is you're afraid of."  
  
Sydney smiled at his joke, but the smiled suddenly disappeared at the thought of her father, "You didn't tell him, did you? My dad, please tell me that you didn't tell him."  
  
"I didn't." He answered, calming her fears. "Truth is I was so anxious to come out here to find you that I forgot to tell him."  
  
She smiled at him, "Thank you."  
  
"Don't thank me, thank my forgetful memory."  
  
Again to his amazement, she laughed. Actually laughed. Sydney Bristow actually laughing at something he said. "You know, I'm not really hungry." She said, "Do you want to go somewhere else?" _What the hell are you doing? Remember why you left him? Remember the whole not hurting him thing? Oh screw it, I'm going with what my heart and body say tonight and I'll deal with the rest of me tomorrow.  
_  
He smiled, and nodded, "Sure." He pulled out his wallet, leaving a ten on the table for the waiter and then pocketed the wallet again. He stood up and offered his hand to help her up as well. She took it and they walked out of the restaurant hand in hand.  
  
They had gotten about twenty steps away from the restaurant before a voice that neither one of them thought they would ever hear again said, "Why hello Sydney, it's good to see you again and so well." Both felt a sharp sting in either the neck or arm respectively and then the world went black. 

A/N: Haha! Cliffy, again! I am evil and I am proud!

* * *

**Fair Cate**- Yeah, when I was writing that part, I had Almost Thirty Years on the in the background and it was at the part where Sydney's running down the hall and Vaughn's just standing there like a dope watching her. But that's okay, he was a cute dope. And I was like, that perfectly describes how Sydney was feeling in my story. 

**Rach5**- Now you have to wonder who the interesting voice is. And I'm curious, but how is it different from everybody else's? That interests me and now I can't stop thinking about how it's different.

**cg's-gal-72689**- I'm impatient too and I try to update as fast as I can. At least I'm not updating every three weeks or so. I think someone would lead a coup against me if I did that.

**Valoriahn**- hehe, I like ending things on cliffhangers, like with this chapter. Very cliffhangery. Is cliffhangery a word? ::shurg:: ah well, now it is. :)

**Heidi**- Yeah, I can't believe that it took me five chapters just to have them meet. It was killing me but I wanted to drag it out as long as I could, which apparently isn't very long. hehe

**Erin**- Now, I bet that you think this cliffhanger is even more evil. Cappucino is good too, along with mochas. lots and lots of mochas. I haven't had a mocha in a very long time and I'm all like normal. It's very scary. hehe that ryhmed, very and scary. hehe, i'm done now.

**dani11e87**- First off, thanks for all the reviews. second, you werent the only one to think that Vaughn was Lea's dad. Trust me, you weren't. third, I meant like you can google the CIA and look up where their offices are, true story, actually did it once. fourth, yeah, you gotta read the author's notes at the beginning of the story cause I did say that it was right after season two with the last five minutes of the third season in it. i know, very confusing. fifth, you're gonna love the finale whenever you see it. I did and that's a lot for me, considering i was yelling at the TV screen last year. I have trouble accepting that the telling and anything after it every happened. i think that's all for now. thanks for the reviews, again.

**Agent Flamingo**- There might some Syd on the run soon, hard to say and yes that is a spoiler that i just gave you. I really need to learn to keep my mouth shut. i have a really big mouth. ::whistles:: Yay! Cliffhangers are always nice. I love to write them

**Ren201**- Yeah, in a weird way, "we need to see them meet again" did make sense. a lot of sense, actually, and yay! you quoted my story, that's cool because people don't usually do that. I like that line too.

**spykid18**- Thanks, I pretty sure that I've read your stories and liked them. Yeah, I'm pretty sure that was you.

**TheUptownGirl**- Bet you're just gonna love me after this last cliffhanger. and most of my chapters are cliffhangers, it keeps people reading.

**wicked-sista**- hehe, and this one that I just you with is probably more evil and I'm so proud of myself for being evil. It's a good quality.

**rainluver**- I love your name by the way. Totally cool cause I love the rain. I seriously go out in the rain just because I like it. Once it was raining and me and my mom were walking through the parking at a Target or something and it started lightning, and my mom was freaking out. So, just being the evil person that I am, I went up to one of those big street light things and hugged it, saying, "oh big metal pole, you're my new best friend" needless to say, my mom wanted to kill me because of that.

**Charmed-angel4**- Whoo! So we both have crappy memories. We should start a club about that. The Crappy Memory Club. Okay, so that title sucks, you think of something.

**assethandler**- What does that mean? It's solid. Does that mean that it's believable or that I've just really made the plot and setting and characters real? I'm so confused and I don't like to be confused and sorry if I sound mean. Not meaning to.


	7. Dark

It was dark. For a lack of a better word to describe it, dark seemed to fit it very well. It was like falling down a dark hole and there was no one to catch her. At least, not a first. Slowly, she came to realize that someone, it was hard to say who, was holding her, cradling her in their arms, trying to make her feel safe. The falling slowed almost to the point where she was floating in air when she started to see light again and hear a voice that she never expected to hear.

"Sydney?" Vaughn asked, softly for what seemed like the millionth time. "Syd, wake up." He tapped her face with the back of his hand but she made no movement to open her eyes or any other tell all sign that she wasn't comatose. "Come on, Syd, you're stronger than this." Still nothing. Thinking it over for a moment, he said, "Paige? Paige, wake up." _Okay, so that did not work. What now, Vaughn? What brilliant idea do you have now?_ "I have no idea." He said, out loud.

"You know that talking to yourself is the first sign of insanity," Sydney said, her voice croaking.

Vaughn ignored her comment, "Oh God, Syd, you're okay." He pulled her closer to him. She let him. It felt good to be in his arms again. _God, did it feel good._ She would have been perfectly happy and content to just relax into his warm chest. But that nagging voice in the back of her head kept telling her to push him off, get him away from her. She listened. The last time she ignored the voice, _this_ had happened.

She sat up suddenly, maybe a little too suddenly for her head starting hurting but she pushed aside the pain. Vaughn was surprised, then confused as she scrambled out of his arms and across the dimly lit room to the wall opposite him. "Syd?" He asked, making the move to go to her.

"Don't," She said loudly. After the word stopped echoing around the room, she added, in softer tone, "Stay away from me."

"I think it's a little late for the protecting me from harm crap you were going on about, Sydney," Vaughn snapped, frustrated that she was still pushing him away. _After all that, and she still has to be stubborn as a damn mule_.

"Paige," She said, firmly, her eyes portraying how hurt she was by his tone.

"Sydney," He answered, just as firmly. Frustration was making him pick a fight with her, even though that was the last thing he wanted to do.

"Paige," She repeated, starting to get angry with him and forgetting all about being hurt by his tone.

"Sydney," He said, his frustration with her stubbornness growing.

"Paige."

"Sydney."

"Paige."

"Sydney."

"Paige. We could do this for hours."

"Sydney. Alright."

"Paige. Fine."

"Sydney. Fine."

"Paige."

"Sydney."

"Paige."

"Sydney."

"Paige."

"Sydney."

"Paige!" She yelled.

"Sydney!" He yelled back.

She didn't respond this time. Instead she just sat there glaring daggers at him but refusing to say anything more to him. _He was so damn persistent._

He did the same, returning the glare she gave him, though it was a little softer than hers. He wouldn't speak until she did. _She was so damn stubborn._

_You're being an idiot. Go back to him. You need him. He needs you. You need each other. Stop being so stupid,_ her heart argued. _No way in hell. Not until he apologizes first,_ her head argued back.

_You're being stupid. Go over to her. You need her. She needs you. You need each other. Stop being such an idiot, _his heart told him. _No way in hell. Not until she says she's sorry first,_ his head argued back.

A few hours, a lot of glaring and tense silence later, a guard appeared at the doorway. The sudden bright light from the hallway or something behind the guard momentarily blinded the two of them. "The boss wants to know if either of you are willing to talk."

Sydney and Vaughn exchanged angry glances, silently agreeing to say nothing, a first of the night, and then both looked back at the guard and shook their heads firmly.

"Okay, it is your funerals," The guard said. His voice had a hint of a Spanish accent to it, making them wonder where they were exactly. He tossed a good sized piece of bread to Sydney and a rather large bottle of water to Vaughn and leaving promptly after. The arrangement would have been all fine and dandy if it weren't for the fact that Sydney was almost dying of thirst, and Vaughn was just about starved.

"Perfect," They both mumbled, sarcastically, at the same time.

()

"Director Dixon."

When Weiss heard Dixon's familiar, end of the day boredom voice, he breathed a sigh of relief, "Dixon, I need you to look up everything on Paige Waters."

"Why?" Dixon asked, after shouting to an intern to get started on the request.

"Because Sydney and Vaughn are missing," Weiss answered like it was the most normal thing he had said in a long time and it probably was. Hours of talking to high school students about being a spy and then calling random people he saw last night at the dance if they had seen Sydney or Vaughn for an entire day was anything but normal.

"What? Wait, you found Sydney?"

"And then lost her," Weiss answered with a laugh. "And Vaughn along with her."

"Where was she? Is she alright?"

"Found her in Colorado, she was, get this, a high school English teacher," Weiss paused, laughing at the irony. Then remembering now was not the time to be laughing, he stopped and went back to being serious. "She seemed alright the last time I saw, though she looked like she was going to kick Mike's ass. That was almost," Weiss paused to glance at his watch, "twenty hours ago."

"What? Why didn't you call sooner?" Dixon sounded very peeved that Weiss had neglected to tell him that one of his dearest friends who had been missing for three years had been found sooner.

"I didn't think of it, okay, chill man. Got any info yet?"

Dixon nodded as the intern handed him a folder, and started to read from it, "Lives in North Glenn, a suburb of Denver, teaches high school English, volunteers at a homeless shelter, helps with local plays at the community center. Geez, Syd's going for the wholesome thing big time."

Weiss bit his tongue to keep from yelling at Dixon. "I know that already, I need an address, like _now_."

Dixon skimmed the page looking for any listed address, "Um, home address, 963 Washington Ave. North Glenn."

"Thank you," Weiss said, hurriedly, hanging up. He turned over the ignition of his car and sped off for the address Dixon told him. About a block later he was caught in midday traffic that was a famous thing in Denver and its surrounding suburbs. One simply did not go a day without encountering some form of a traffic jam.

()

"Director Dixon? I have Agent Vaughn's sister on the line. She's been calling all day and demands to speak to you," A secretary said to Dixon through one of those intercom thingies that annoyed the crap out of you sometimes.

"Okay," Dixon sighed. He wanted to call Weiss back and demand an explanation but he didn't have the opportunity now.

"Line one," The secretary said, switching off the intercom.

Dixon picked up his desk phone and pressed the '1' key. "Director Dixon."

"You're Michael's boss, right?" was the first thing out of Juliette Vaughn's mouth.

_Put her down as the annoying, little sister. No wonder Agent Vaughn doesn't like to talk to her._ "Yes, I am. What can I help you with?"

"You can help me by telling me where the hell my stupid brother went." Juliette snapped.

"I sent him on a mission." Dixon replied calmly.

"Where?" Juliette persisted.

_Damn, this girl was stubborn_. "Colorado."

"Colorado?" Juliette repeated, not believing her ears. "What the hell could he possibly do in Colorado?"

"I'm afraid that's classified information," Dixon replied, hoping that would distract her.

It worked. Juliette sighed, frustrated, "Do you know when he's going to be back?"

"No, unfortunately," _Hell, I don't even know where he was at the moment. That reminds me, call back Agent Weiss._

"Can you have him call me the second you hear from him? Tell him that he's not going to get out of seeing me and the kids this weekend." Without waiting for an answer, she hung up the phone. "He's in Colorado." She ranted to her husband.

He smiled, and laughed, "Sounds like he's avoiding you."

"Don't say that."

()

Weiss arrived at Sydney's apartment and knocked on the door several times. "Sydney? Hello, are you in there?"

"Are you looking for someone?" An elderly woman asked. She had heard Weiss making a lot of noise in the hallway and had come out of her apartment to find out why.

"Yeah, um, Paige Waters," Weiss answered, remembering to use Sydney's new name when asking for her. He doubted that she told anyone her old name, so asking for a Sydney Bristow would have gotten him nowhere.

"Did Paige do something wrong?" The woman asked.

Weiss let out his breath. It wasn't as good as actually finding Sydney and Vaughn, but it was a start. "No, I'm just trying to find her. How do you know her?"

"I'm her neighbor, Mrs. Ashley."

Weiss extended his hand and Mrs. Ashley shook it firmly, "It's nice to meet you Mrs. Ashley, do you know where I can find Paige?"

"Is she not home?" Weiss shook his head. Mrs. Ashley shrugged, "I'm sorry, son, I can't help you. I haven't seen her since last night. Come to think of it, I don't think she came home at all last night."

"She didn't?" Weiss asked, noting the small piece of information.

Mrs. Ashley shook her head, "No. Sorry I couldn't help more."

"No, I think you helped more than you think." Weiss said, heading for the elevator. "Thank you." He said, just before the doors closed. After he pulled out his cell phone and punched in a number, "Send in a team to Colorado. We officially have a kidnapping on our hands."

"Are you sure?" Dixon asked.

"Positive, they haven't been spotted since last night. I called every restaurant within a five mile radiance, they were last spotted at a Macaroni Grill. Start there. We'll work our way out from there."

* * *

**Rach5**- Hehe, okay I can settle for the plot is different. I try to be different and I see that it's working.

**Ren201**- I like getting your reviews. I really really do. I know there are a lot but my muse is going into overtime lately. I wonder what's up with her. ::shrugs:: oh well, the inspiration is good and i'm not going to question why.

**Fair Cate**- lol. yes but he is our cute dope. I know what you mean, i wouln't complain with vaughn coming after me but it's syd, she has to complicate things. lol. i think there's been something between them since the moment they met, heck even before then. lol. i'm imagining things again.

**TheUptownGirl**- I like that..."holy crow" very nice. better than holy cow cause the cow ain't holy. hehe. you'll just have to wait to see who it is.

**SpyKid18**- nah, having syd give in right away would have been to easy. you gotta compicate things when it comes to s and v. it's the way of the world. oh btw, did you get my email?

**Heidi-** i know, evil cliffhanger. i'm just so good at them. and the dinner date was cute.

**daisyduke947**- maybe he will, maybe he won't. i'm not telling, for now anyway. and who knocked her out is still a mystery even to me...sorta...just kidding....i know who it was.

**Charmed-angel4**- okay, so our club is now the crappy memory insane people...got that?...good cause i forgot it....hehe....

**rainluver**- lol. i have no idea if frolicing is a word. it is now! hehe. that's weird that your friends think that your crazy because of your love of the rain. most of mine love the rain. weird. and you must be reading my mind or something because i was planning on have a scene between vaughn and syd in the rain!!! and i have a creative head? that's very nice of you...lol. thanks for the idea btw. i love when people give me ideas, it really helps me get the story just right.

**Agent Flamingo**- I gave you a spoiler? lol, i guess i did. i have such a bad memory it's not even funny. want another one? okay...the person that knocked them out was....haha, you're gonna have to wait and see. lol. okay, sorry i had to do that. i know, i'm mean. sorry.

**Dora**- Thanks and i hope that you like this chapter as much.

**cg's-gal-72689**- i wouldn't kill off vaughn!!! that would suck and i would be mad at myself. hehe. good to know that there is no coup in my future, hopefully it stays that way.

**Valoriahn**- lol. that would be funny if it was kendell. it's not...or is it? hehe, that's me being cryptic. i wouldn't make a very good creepy asian dentist of persuasion or whatever you called him.

**Erin**- yeah, my mocha high is back and it's worse than ever. i went for two days without one and i about died! i need help. lots and lots of help. normal ain't nice...what are you talking about? lol. shame on you for not doing your homework, though i'll be the same when school starts. shame on me. shame on both of us. lol. jk. and thanks for not being pissed. appreciated.


	8. Forgiveness

Sydney glanced over at Vaughn to see him fiddling with the water bottle. He turned his head towards her and she suddenly turned her gaze back towards the bread in her hand.

Vaughn sighed and continued to watch her pick at the bread in her hand. She wasn't eating it, just sitting there with it and it was driving him insane. _Damn her, she knows exactly what she's doing and she likes it._

Sydney turned her head back a little to see if he was still looking at her but the second he saw her head move, he turned his watchful eye back to the water bottle. He hadn't taken a sip of it yet and it was enough to make her want to choke him. _Damn him, he knows exactly what he's doing and yet he still does it. I thought he wanted to help me. Oh well, who needs him? I definitely don't. What I do need is that damn water bottle_.

Their little game of glancing to towards the other and their goody and then looking away suddenly when the other looked towards them continued until they both let out an angry sigh at the same time.

_Damn him for being so persistent._

_Damn her for being so stubborn_.

"Syd..." Vaughn started to say.

"Vaughn..." Sydney said at the same time.

They both dared to look at the other at the same time and both fought the desire to smile. After all these years, they still worked on the same brain wave. But their little spat earlier was still making them mad at each other.

"It's Paige." Sydney stated.

"It's Michael." Vaughn replied.

Fighting the urge to punch him, Sydney rolled her eyes. "_Michael_, would you mind sharing some of that water?"

Vaughn rolled his eyes at her and said, "Sure, _Paige_, if you give me some of that bread in your hand."

Sydney glared at him and tore the bread in half and hurdled a chunk at him. He wasn't fast enough and it hit him in the forehead. Scowling, Vaughn gulped half the water and threw the bottle at her, hoping to return the favor. But she was faster and caught the bottle before it got anywhere close to her face. His scowl deepened as she grinned, immensely proud of herself.

"Why are you so freaking stubborn?" Vaughn asked out of nowhere.

Sydney was caught of guard by the question and was at a loss for words. "I...don't know. Someone once told me that was a good quality."

"Who told you that?" He asked, already knowing the answer to his question.

"A guy I knew a long time ago. He used to be really sweet but now he's different." Sydney answered, knowing it would touch a nerve with him.

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe he was different because his girlfriend disappeared without a trace three years ago and he hasn't been able to think of much else since then." Vaughn snapped.

Again Sydney was stunned. "What?"

"What do you think I've been doing for the past three years, Sydney?" He paused before adding, "I'm sorry, it's Paige now." He hadn't intended for the sentence to sound bitter but it did.

"I don't know, being assigned another agent and falling in love with her too." Sydney answered.

"Oh God, Syd-" He stopped mid word this time to correct himself, "Paige, that was low, even for you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" She demanded.

He shook his head, "Nevermind, forget I said anything."

"Already done." She hesitated before asking, "What have you been doing for the past three years?"

"Looking for you," He answered simply.

Once again, she was stunned, "You were looking...for me?"

"I don't know how to put it any simpler, Paige." He caught himself before saying 'Sydney' this time.

Sydney looked down at the ground, reeling from his words. _He wasn't really looking for me for three whole years? Was he? Damn, I knew he was persistent, but I had no idea I meant that much to him_. Without making the conscious decision to do so, Sydney scooted over towards Vaughn about a foot but still closer to him than she was before. "Sydney," She corrected him, softly.

Vaughn looked up from his hands and noticed that she had moved closer. "Sydney?" He asked. She nodded, her eyes meeting his, silently asking his forgiveness for all the crap she had put him through. He nodded, just barely, telling her that he was sorry and she had nothing to be sorry about.

In a flash, both were on there feet and instantly by each other's side. Sydney reached out for his arms and grasped onto them just below his elbows. He repeated the gesture and held onto her arms in the exact spot she did his.

"I'm sorry." She said first.

"You don't have any reason to be." He reassured.

She shook her head, "I shouldn't have left. I should have talked to you." A single tear trickled down her cheek and his left hand let go of her arm long enough to gently wipe it away. "I'm sorry."

"You said that already," He teased, lightly.

She laughed, "I know."

"I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't have snapped at you."

"You wouldn't have if I hadn't done it first." She answered, quietly.

"True," He admitted, eliciting a smile from her, "But I shouldn't have egged you on." He couldn't stand it any longer and took his hands off her arms and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her close. She abandoned holding onto his arms as well and placed her arms around his abdomen.

"I love you." She whispered.

"I love you, too." He whispered back. _Okay, so what brought about this change of events? Was it something I said? What did I say, again? Oh yeah, just that I've spent the past three years looking for her. That can't be the reason that she's suddenly forgiven me and stopped being a stubborn mule, can it?_

"Good," She joked._ What am I doing? Ten minutes ago I wanted to beat him with the stupid water bottle and now...now I'm in his arms, telling him that I love him and I'm sorry. Things change really fast. I don't even remember why I chose to give up being so stubborn and pushing him away. I think it had something to do with him saying that he spent the past three years trying to find me. Yeah, that's probably it. No man has ever done anything like that for me._

He laughed but before he said anything more, the sound of two men talking reached both their ears. They shared a glance, already planning out a way to escape. Words weren't ever necessary for them. Working together just came naturally.

One of the men said their goodbyes and continued walking down the hallway or whatever, they assumed it was a hallway, while the other one stopped outside the door and started to fumble with a key to the lock.

In the blink of an eye, Sydney and Vaughn let go of each other –rather reluctantly- and put their plan into motion. Vaughn collapsed on the ground, pretending to be ill while Sydney hid behind the door, waiting for the guard to enter.

After a minute of fumbling with the lock, the guard opened the door and Sydney tried not to let the bright white light blind her and distract her from her job. The guard spotted Vaughn in the center of the room collapsed and noticed that Sydney wasn't in sight. He took one step towards Vaughn to see if he was really ill or just faking it and that was when Sydney chose to make her move.

She crept up behind him and delivered a powerful kick to the back of his head. The guard cried out in pain and surprise but Sydney wasn't finished. When he turned around to face his attacker, she back slapped him across the cheek, followed closely by an elbow to the top of the head, sending the oaf to the ground.

Sydney was going to do more but Vaughn stopped her, "I think you got him, Syd."

She smiled briefly and reached down to pick up the guard's gun. "We may need this."

Vaughn nodded and accepted her help standing up. "So, any idea of what to do now?"

Sydney shook her head and stepped out into the hallway –it was a hallway- with Vaughn right behind her. She looked down one direction and then in the other and then back at him. "I think this is the first time I've ever been lost."

"I don't blame you," He answered, doing the same thing she was. "Flip a coin?"

She shook her head again, "That'll take too long. Just pick a direction."

"You pick," He said.

"No, you pick."

"You're better at this, you do it."

"Vaughn, we don't have the time for this. Pick a direction...left or right."

"Left." He answered after pausing.

"Why left?" She had to ask.

"Because I'm left handed." He replied.

Hiding the smile, she shook her head and started to walk down the hall to their left, "That's probably the stupidest reason to do something ever but if it gets us out of here, it's gonna be my reason every time." He laughed.

"I wonder why there aren't any security cameras or better guards." Vaughn said after they turned the first corner they came too.

"I don't know but I don't like that. He's not that big of an idiot." Sydney said, glancing upwards for signs of a security camera again and finding nothing. Nothing but plain white walls.

"Where is this place anyway?"

"How the hell should I know? You're the one that woke up before me."

"Like ten minutes before you," Vaughn admitted. "And by then, we were in the small dark and dreary room."

"That's pleasant," She commented, a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

"But accurate."

She laughed and shook her head, turning another corner. _Damn, this place is like a fucking maze._ Her pace ceased suddenly, causing Vaughn to run into her.

"Syd, why the hell did you..." His sentence trailed off, seeing what Sydney saw.

At the end of the hall, their surprise visitor from the restaurant and the one to hold them hostage stood. Alone. Without any guards. Which was odd enough for any bad guy but even weirder for this particular one. A carefully crafted smile played on his lips as he lifted a handgun and aimed it at the pair.

A single shot fired, followed closely by a cry of pain.

* * *

A/N: Unfortunately school has started again and for me that means that I need to take a break and step back from the fanfiction world and get reorganized. In other words, that means that I'm taking a hiatus for at least a week, quite possibly two and maybe even three. I know it sucks but I can't screw up my classes this year because of fanfiction. You can be mad, that's okay but I'm not changing my mind. When I come back, I will have a new chapters and most likely new stories. So, see y'all soon. And thanks in advance for your reviews, they really keep me inspired. And I know, this chapter was very cliffhangery. (does anyone know if that is a word? anyone at all? lol)

**daisyduke947**- yeah, i like juliette too. i'm going to try and work her into the plot some more but i'm not sure if i'm going to be able to.

**Agent Flamingo**- okay so there's common sense in syd's head now and i still have yet to say who it was. i have a pretty good idea but i haven't made my final decision about it yet.

**Fair Cate**- yeah, good ole me, cant have a fic without some form of humor. i love humor and putting a smile on people's faces. i thought the fight scene would be funny and it was.

**Julia**- that's totally okay. you're reviewing now, hopefully. i hate when the thing doesnt work. happens to me all the time.

**Valoriahn**- so like the butt kicking? and i know that chapter wasn't very long and i think this one was even shorter but i wanted it to end where it did. i'll try to make the next one longer.

**Erin**- lol. the fight scene sounded like me and my brother too, only there was less hitting between syd and vaughn. we dont have a new principal but i wish that we did. the one we have now kinda scares me. lol

**Rach5**- lol. thanks. i thought the name thing would be funny and an excellant chance to show everyone how stubborn they both are. it worked.

**TheUptownGirl**- i never noticed how stubborn both juliette and vaughn were until you pointed it out for me. so thanks for that and your review. me so happy now.

**rainluver**- lol. me and my friends have this esp thing going and it's scary sometimes cause we'll like say the same sentence at the same time for like two minutes. we did that once in class and the teacher was like, how long have you two been practicing that? it was funny. thanks for calling me creative and talented. many hugs for you :hug:

**Charmed-angel4**- okay, so crappy memory insane club. that's our little club and that sounds funny. lol.

**Ren201**- lol. i've read some of your stories and they're really good. sorry if i havent reviewed. the stupid thing wouldnt work and i called it a bad name and it still wouldnt cooperate. i'll try again when i get the chance. promise.


	9. Escaping

A/N: Me plus boredness in bio = sooner chapters for stories! lol. I'm back, as if you can't tell. I've decided to write all my most important chapters during bio now. It makes life so much more fun. lol. I just want to say that I am continuing this fic. Updates could be spaced out if I can't get them written but I'll try my best.

Hope you like the new chapter.

* * *

She hadn't even realized that two shots had been fired, at the same time making them sound as one, until she noticed Vaughn grimacing in pain next to her. Immediately, she abandoned the idea of shooting Sloane again and turned her attention to Vaughn. Her eyes quickly skimmed across his body, trying to find the point of entry for the bullet. She found none, which didn't help her nerves any. 

"Vaughn?" She asked quietly, still searching for a wound. _How freaking hard can it be to find a bullet wound? When you get shot, you bleed. End of story. I should know, I've been shot enough times to figure that one out. And why the hell aren't you bleeding, Vaughn?!_

"I'm fine," Vaughn whispered back, trying to see around her. "Did you...?" He trailed off, trying to think of what exactly to say.

Realizing that she hadn't even bothered to check if she killed or injured or just plain missed one of the men responsible for all the crap she had to put up with in her life, Sydney whirled around. It took less than a second to spot Sloane's bleeding body on the ground. From what she could tell –considering she was at the other end of the hall- her aim had planted a bullet in the son of a bitch's ribcage, just a little bit above his liver. Not bad but she wished that she had done better.

Vaughn could see the anger and hate run through her from behind. He moved his hand just a little to grasp her when a bolt of pain shot through his arm. Biting back a groan of pain, he glanced down at his arm to find a small pool of blood collecting on his sleeve. It just looked like the bullet had skimmed his arm, nothing to be too concerned about. _Though it did kind of prove Sydney's point didn't it?_ Pushing that thought to the back of his mind to be attended to later, Vaughn said, "Sydney?"

Sydney tried not to ignore him but she couldn't help it. She wanted to turn around and grab him by the arm and pull him past the bastard lying at the end of the hall and out of the building and to freedom. But she couldn't make herself move. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't force herself to tear his gaze away from the son of a bitch.

"Sydney?" Vaughn asked, again. He could imagine the thoughts running through her head but she had already fatally wounded the man, there wasn't much else she could do. "Come on, Syd."

Suddenly, she started moving but not the way he intended. He had expected her to turn around and lead him out of there quietly. She did the complete opposite. She took off running down the hall, the guard's gun still in hand. At first, he thought that she was just going to keep running, but she skidded to a stop just before she went past Sloane.

"You son of a bitch!" Sydney hissed, raising the gun to shoot him again. She squeezed the trigger not once, but four more times before the gun ran out of bullets. _What kind of cheap crap is this gun? Seven bullets and that's it?_ She thought throwing the gun at him.

Vaughn watched her with a raised eyebrow and more worrying than he had done the first two years that he had known her. True, she could be tough when needed and she did hate Sloane with a passion for more than one reason but he had never seen her and vicious before.

He would have stayed frozen to the spot, if a small beeping noise hadn't started. Frantically glancing around, he found what where the beeping was emanating from. A small screen, that if you didn't look twice and carefully that second time, you would miss, planted into the wall next to him. It blinked a couple times before a countdown started.

It became clear to him that the building was wired on some form of a failsafe, probably initiated by Sloane before he died. And they had less than two minutes to negotiate their way out of there or be toasted alive.

No words necessary, he took off running in her direction, ignoring his wounded arm's protests and grabbed her arm, pulling her along. She was momentarily dazed at the sudden movement but wasted no time in catching up to Vaughn's speed and surpassing it a little. Nevermind the little fact that he was an injured man but she was in a skirt for Pete's sake!

She guided them out of the building like she had been in it before and knew the floor plan perfectly. She took all the right turns, pausing only for a millisecond where he would have paused for at least a second, wasting precious time. He had no idea where this sudden burst of navigation came from but he would worry about it after they got out and to safety.

They came to a set of double doors and without thinking twice about it, Sydney kicked the doors open. A sudden blast of cold mountain air hit them as they ran past the doors, just as the faint sounds of the countdown ticking became increasing louder.

"What the hell was that all about?" Sydney demanded, stopping far too close to the building. Vaughn didn't answer her, instead grabbed her arm again, this time holding on tightly, and pulling her a safe distance away from the building. "Vaughn, what the hell-" Her sentence was interrupted by a muffled blast, followed by another louder one, and another and another until the entire building burst into flames, beginning to collapse under its own wait. She stared, utterly shocked and speechless at the flaming building before her gaze made its way over to a, overworked Vaughn and his bleeding arm. _Wait, bleeding arm? Oh my God, he's bleeding._ "Vaughn, you're hurt."

He glanced down at his wound and tried not to grimace without much luck, "I'm fine."

"You're not fine. You're bleeding," She paused to take a closer look at the wound, "And a lot. We need to get you to a hospital."

He shook his head, "No hospitals." She gave him a look that said he was going to a hospital, not buts about it. "I'm serious, Sydney. That'll just raise more questions than either one of us want to answer."

Knowing that he was right, she nodded, reluctantly, "At least let me clean it."

He chuckled lightly before posing the question, "With what exactly?"

Again being bested by Michael Vaughn, Sydney glanced around their location, carefully avoiding the burning building behind them. "There's a convenience store down the road about a mile." She took a step, grabbing onto his good arm, trying to pull him along.

But he stayed rooted to the spot, "How do you know?"

"We're in Winter Park." She answered calmly, pulling on his arm and forcing him to walk with her. "When I needed a break, I would take a weekend off and go to the mountains for a quiet weekend. I used to jog up here when I was in Winter Park."

Vaughn mentally calculated the distance between Winter Park, a ski resort town in the mountains of Colorado and North Glenn, figuring that it was about a hundred miles. _Hold the phone a second, a hundred miles? Sloane wasn't that big of an idiot, was he? Isn't it like written in the Bad Guy's Handbook to Kidnapping somewhere that you always take your victim to a foreign country? Sloane would know this without a handbook, so why did he do something so stupid? Was it even really Sloane?_ He shook off _that_ thought, turning his attention back to Sydney. "Anything to see in Winter Park?"

She smiled, and shook her head, "Not much here besides the ski resort and it's closed this late in the season, not enough snow." She didn't say anymore on the subject and he was content with that.

They walked the rest of the distance in silence until the blinking lights of the convenience store in the near distance. Sydney stopped him outside the store, much to his bewilderment, so she explained. "If you go in there with that bleeding arm, there would be more questions than with the hospital. So why don't I go get the stuff, and you go to the bathroom, it's around the corner, and wait for me there."

Vaughn smiled at her concern for him and nodded along with her plan until he remembered something, "What exactly are you going to use to pay for the stuff?" He assumed that any money she might have had with her was long gone like his wallet.

She smiled, devilishly, something up her sleeve as always, "I know the cashier. One minuscule glimpse of these," She pointed to her chest, "And he'll give me anything I want for free."

"You know I don't like the idea of you using your body for free stuff," He teased, gently.

"And I don't like the idea of you being injured, so we go with my plan." She teased back, bending down to hike up her skirt a little, and rearranging her blouse so it rest a little lower on her chest than it was originally supposed to. "Wish me luck," She said already with a fake smile on her lips. He waited until the store door closed behind her to make his way over to the bathroom around the corner. _What was with bathrooms being outside the convenience store in these mountain states?_

The door was unlocked, meaning that no one was inside, so he slipped inside, flipping on the lights, and waiting a couple seconds for his eyes to adjust from the complete blackness of the night outside to the florescent lights in the bathroom. It was very dirty, that fact stood out above the rest.

Not even ten minutes later, Sydney knocked once before entering the bathroom, a small plastic bag full of simple medical supplies in hand. "Sit." She instructed, pointing to the toilet which thankfully had the lid down. Vaughn did as he was told as she set the bag on the sink counter and began to take things out of it. "Take off your shirt." She added. He did as he was told, again, and waited until she turned around, a small gasp escaping her lips as she spot his bare chest before smiling.

He watched as she took some gauze, wet it and brushed the face dirt off his wound. Then satisfied with that, she took another strip of gauze and coated it in antiseptic. She grimaced along with him when she touched the piece of gauze to his arm, eliciting a small 'hiss' from Vaughn. "I'm sorry," She whispered, lifting the gauze from one spot and placing on another.

"It's fine," He answered, looking away from her so she would see his pained expression.

_He's too cute when he tries to hide that he's in pain_. She shook her head and turned back to the sink, thankfully taking the piece of gauze with her. Unable to find a trash can, she just tossed it back into the bag, and lifted a large bandage box off its place on the counter. Spreading some antibacterial cream on it to keep the wound clean, she turned from the counter and back to him before pressing the bandage onto his arm. She twisted awkwardly behind her to grab the bandage tape needed to hold the bandage onto his arm and proceeded to tape it to his arm.

"There, that should do until you get something better." She said, stepping back and tossing everything, no matter if it had been used or not, into the bag.

He reached for his shirt with his good arm and stood up to put it on, "When we get back to L.A., I'll go see a doctor."

She visibly flinched when he said 'we' and 'L.A.' _He doesn't honestly think that I'm going to go back to L.A. does he? Back to the spy world and all the lies and crap I had to put up with? Not to mention my dad_. She turned and met his eyes. The look of hope in them told her that was exactly what he was thinking, except maybe the spy part and the lies and crap and most likely her dad. So basically he just expected her to go back to L.A. with him.

"Is something wrong?" He asked, noticing her flinch and her troubled expression.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly before answering, "Vaughn, I'm not going back to L.A."

* * *

A/N: I know, I didn't spend a lot of time on the 'who was the bad guy kidnapper' thing but I was so excited to get to the S/V loving, in a sense, that I kinda just sped that up and please don't hate me because of it. 

**Agent Flamingo**- Now I have that song stuck in my head. 'Syd and Vaughn sittin in a tree'. that's okay, it's a cool song. I really hope that you liked this chapter. Be brutally honest if you hated it.

**Heidi**- I know, cliffhangers can be evil but they keep me writing so they can't be that bad can they? Me writing equal more chapters sooner. And that's good. lol.

**ProvidenceSea**- I know. me and my cliffhangers. we should get married! lol. i know that makes like no sense but whatever. me in a weird mood.

**TheUptownGirl**- Like I could ever have Syd and Vaughn seriously hurt or killed. I love them. Maybe I could, but it would always end up happy in the end.

**cg's-gal-72689**- I know you don't like cliffhangers but they keep me writing so learn to like them. lol.

**Loozy**- Still loving the more! more! more! more! thing. so funny!

**Erin**- How's 13 days sound? Better than 3 weeks and it's one day before 2. lol. I'm glad they made up too.

**rainluver**- Thank you for the hugs, except the one you took away. lol. Hugs back! ::hug:: yes, school is evil but i'm going to work around it now. That's cool that you're in a band. I'm not musical at all, except maybe singing but even then, not that great.

**Julia**- What worked? lol. Me happy they made up too.

**Charmed-angel4**- I dunno. When should we? It doesn't matter anyway, we'd both forget and miss it, so we could be mad at each other without even knowing it. lol. that's does not make a lot of sense.

**Fair Cate**- Finally, I get someone to compliment the cliffhanger instead of calling it evil. lol. a hug for you! ::hug::.

**Grouchy**- lol, i know what you mean about the hecticness of school but i'm just going to have to work around it.

**daisyduke947**- What was rude?

**Ren201**- But I want to read your stories! I like to read the stories of people that review my stories. spread the love a little. We should change kidnapper to spynapper. that's a way cooler word than kidnapper. i mean, they're not children. they're spy damnit! lol.


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